Bears

2014 | 78 minutes

“Bears captures a spring and summer in the lives of a brown bear and her two nursing cubs. For the sake of storytelling, the filmmakers name their movies mama bear Sky and her cubs Scout and Amber.

Actor John C. Reilly narration for this Disneynature True Life Adventure release veers between folksy and fun to deadly serious. The three bears experience many challenges on the Alaska Peninsula, a breathtaking wilderness area between Bristol Bay and the Pacific Ocean.

Bears is a filmmaking feat. Director Keith Scholey, Riley and crew photographed the bears up close and personal, in remote, difficult locations. From snow-covered mountains to grassy planes to a muddy beach to forests to a whitewater stream crowded with bears feasting on salmon, their favorite meal, the films locations are gorgeously wild.

The Alaska Peninsula is home to a large population of brown bears, making it an obvious choice for Bears, a film thats both immersive documentary and non-fiction narrative. All of the principal and supporting animals get names, becoming characters in the story about Sky, Scout and Amber.

A mother for the first time, Sky dutifully protects her vulnerable cubs. Its a newfound responsibility that requires challenging adjustments and at least one heartbreaking choice.

By necessity, Sky is all business. Theres no time for her to play. Try telling that to Scout, Skys male offspring. Hes a frisky, independent little guy. To the contrary, Amber is a mamas girl. Staying close to Sky, even riding on her mothers back, shes the movies cutest character.

The animal population in the 4-million-acre Katmai National Park and Preserve includes predators such as wolves. An opportunistic wolf named Tikaani stalks the bear family in hopes of taking one of Skys cubs. The filmmakers show how sly, skilled and persistent Tikaani is.

The darker aspects of Bears include the danger posed by adult bears to cubs. While its never explicitly said, Rileys narration makes it clear that big, hungry bears will kill bear cubs.

The dangers to Skys cubs include alpha bear Magnus. Another of the films easily discernible characters, hes the huge, powerful, undisputed king of bear country. And theres Chinook, a male bear whose outcast status makes him an even more dangerous threat to Scout and Amber. If this film has a villain, its Chinook.

Shooting scenes with Magnus, Chinook and Tikaani, the Bears filmmakers found action and drama for their bears documentary. Theres pathos, too. Skys constant search for food, a search hindered by her cubs, turns bleak.

Contrary to brown-bear statistics, Bears wont send audiences home with images of a bear family tragedy. A movie containing cute bears, massive bears, stunning vistas and an age-old story of survival, the G-rated Bears is fine entertainment for families and animal lovers.